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The Process Of Assessment And Diagnosis

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The Process of Assessment and Diagnosis in Therapy
Basic Elements
The ability to conduct an efficient and effective clinical and diagnostic interview is arguably one of the most valued therapeutic skills. It is during the interview that the therapist learns about the difficulties and challenges experienced by the couple and begins to form the foundations for a healing professional relationship. There are three basic assessment elements that should guide every interviewing session.
The first is establishing rapport. Establishing rapport refers to creating an open, trusting, and safe relationship with the couple or family. The course of establishing an effective couple–clinician relationship will vary, but an overarching goal of the…show more content…
Biblical Anthropology and Assessment A proper assessment from a biblical-anthropological perspective needs to take into account the image of God as part of human nature. The three dimensions of the image of God (relational, structural and functional) form the core of human nature. Humans are relational beings with the structural capacity to relate to others and fulfill their purpose in this life. These three dimensions were damaged or affected after the Fall. As discussed previously, normality and pathology are connected with the sinful human condition.
In order to develop an effective treatment plan, McMinn and Campbell (2007) recommend assessing issues associated with each of the three elements of human nature. They suggested starting with the assessment of thoughts and behaviors, and moving on to assessing schemas and interpersonal functioning. While both the functional and the structural assessment dimensions will be considered in the following section, this chapter will emphasize the influence of the relational dimension of the image of God as the primary reason for abnormality in the functional and the structural domains. Sin is a relational issue, and this separation from God and other selves is responsible for the abnormality in human beings.
Assessing Maladaptive Thoughts and Behaviors (Functional Domain). When God created
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